Hubble image archive
Model of Fomalhaut b Dust Cloud
Hubble Captures Protoplanetary Collision in the Fomalhaut Star SystemThis diagram simulates what astronomers, studying Hubble Space Telescope observations, taken over several years, consider evidence for the first-ever detection of the aftermath of a titanic planetary collision i...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2020
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2020-09-4625-image
Hubble Captures Protoplanetary Collision in the Fomalhaut Star System
This diagram simulates what astronomers, studying Hubble Space Telescope observations, taken over several years, consider evidence for the first-ever detection of the aftermath of a titanic planetary collision in another star system. The color-tinted Hubble image on the left is of a vast ring of icy debris encircling the star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away. The star is so brilliant that a black occulting disk is used to block out its glare so that the dust ring can be photographed. In 2008, astronomers saw what they thought was the first direct image of a planet orbiting far from the star. However, by 2014, the planet candidate faded below Hubble's detection. The best interpretation is that the object wasn't ever a fully formed planet at all, but an expanding cloud of dust from a collision between two minor bodies, each about 125 miles across. The diagram at the right is based on a simulation of the expanding and fading cloud. The cloud, made of very fine dust particles, is currently estimated to be over 200 million miles across. Smashups like this are estimated to happen around Fomalhaut once every 200,000 years. Therefore, Hubble was looking at the right place at the right time to capture this transient event.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and A. Gáspár and G. Rieke (University of Arizona)Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Fomalhaut b |
| Object Description | Model of Fomalhaut b expanding dust cloud |
| R.A. Position | 22:57:39.04 |
| Dec. Position | -29:37:20.04 |
| Constellation | Piscis Austrinus |
| Distance | The Fomalhaut star system is located 25 light-years away from Earth. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | This image was created from HST data from proposals , , 11818, and ; PI: P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley). |
| Instrument | STIS/CCD |
| Exposure Dates | May 2012 |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is a composite of many separate exposures made by the STIS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. This image was originally black and white and recorded only overall brightness. These brightness values were translated into a range of reddish hues. Such color "maps" can be useful in helping to distinguish subtly varying brightness in an image. Red: STIS/CCD. |
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Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
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